Geek-Speak - Pure Geekery

Guess what? I’m still factinated by modern ruins, and stumbled across this entry on BLDGBLOG that takes a look at some pretty cool hotels on the Sinai Peninsula that were started, but never finished.

In fact, there’s a photography show in Vienna on this very subject which, unfortunately is too far away (I’m in Scotland), and ends on Monday. However, the images on BLDGBLOG are amazing, and have piqued my curiosity.

I don’t know if it’s the sheer difference in architecture between Scotland and the Middle East, but the buildings seem very exotic. Mind, I guess that’s what the designers would have wanted in a luxury hotel, isn’t it? They look as if they would be fantastic for playing paintball in… I wonder if anyone’s thought of actually doing that?

What I think is interesting about these is that they were never inhabited. Unlike the other places I’d like to go, which were all abandoned after being put to use, these were just never finished.

There are some other shots of the same hotels here and here, if you want to explore more without actually having to go there

I have no idea why this appeals so much to me, but I think it’s hilarious! :: Screaming Beans

Warning: needs flash and has sound.

Sorry, just realised this might be confusing… that’s a screenshot. To actually play the beans, click here.

I’m an eternal tinkerer, and wanted to know if there were any ways to hack my iPod to do different things. Well, I found iPod Linux which, and this shouldn’t come as much of a shock, is a project to install linux on your iPod rather than the standard interface it already has.

I’m fairly happy with Linux as an operating system, as I’ve said before, so I thought this was worth a look. But when I started looking into exactly what the benefits would be for me, a 5th Gen iPod owner, I was a little confused. It seems that none of the iPods that could be converted to Linux will retain all of the original functions (click on the feature table for a larger, readable version).

So, I’m wondering, has anyone out there actually made the jump to running Linux on their iPod? If so, did the benefits outweigh the costs? Do you find that the extra customization and flexibility is worth losing a few functions?

Basically, is it worth me trying this out?

What do you think?

How frustrating is it to type up a few notes for a presentation or course, only to discover that you need them while you’re at another computer and they aren’t available!? I used to e-mail myself anything that I knew I wanted to have access to, but I often forgot to do it, or didn’t realise what I would want until I already wanted it (if you see what I mean). What if there were a way to take your notes with you? Well, I’m a big Google fan, and Google Documents and Google Notepad are both pretty good - but about a month ago I got an invite to Evernote, and I’m hooked.

Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at anytime, from anywhere. Evernote’s “About” Blurb

So what’s to like about Evernote then?

• Being able to access notes across platforms and multiple computers: When I write a note on my Mac, using the desktop note-taking program, it is automatically synced with my Evernote account on the net. I can pick up those notes on my PC at work, in an internet cafe, or another computer using the desktop program. I will eventually be able to access (and write) notes on my mobile phone too, but at the moment my particular make of mobile is not supported.
• Advanced image recognition: I had to check very carefully to make sure Evernote was entirely automatic. Why? Because when you add an image to any of your notes, Evernote attempts to recognise any text contained in the image. The thing is, it’s very good at this, and I was suspicious that the text recognition was actually being carried out by a human. Turns out it’s just a very clever system, though.
• E-mailing images: One way I can use my mobile is to e-mail images that I snap with the camera to Evernote. This almost turns my mobile into an ultra-portable scanner, as I can snap a pic of a poster or document, mail it in, and Evernote will carry out text recognition on it. The only limitation I have found with this is that you don’t get a plain text version of your image - you can search the text, but not just read it back.
• Easy note-taking: The desktop client and website are pretty much WYSIWYG - add images and text all you like and it’ll be synched across all platforms just as you typed it. There aren’t masses of options available - it’s not quite Microsoft Publisher or Apple Pages, but it’s good enough to make your notes look decent while still remaining easy to use.

Sounds wonderful, but is there anything not to like? Not much, really:

• There isn’t a mobile client for my phone yet, but I would imagine that will come eventually. That’s what happens when you play with a Beta version, isn’t it?
• Some text in images isn’t recognised. Given that I’m snapping random stuff and actually trying to break the text recognition that’s perfectly acceptable, but it is a bit frustrating when you discover that your snap was a little shaky and you just can’t get that recipe for croissants you’d hoped for

Evernote is currently in closed beta, but I have 10 invites if anyone wants them. Just leave a comment asking for an invite, and don’t forget to fill in your e-mail address so that I know who to invite

Check out iconfactory for some sweet wallpapers and icons… especially their latest for the new Indiana Jones film or for Patapon. Nice kit for Mac and Windows.

MacOSX alert!!! Paparazzi is a fab piece of donationware that is so simple and yet so effective - basically it is a small utility for Mac OS X that makes screenshots of webpages.

Here’s a pic I took for a post on my blog…

I think it works a treat… and is going to be an important tool in my Mac toolbox. Nice!

Just back from a good weekend away, but found that I wasn’t receiving any site updates while I was “down South”. For some reason, the RSS feed seems to have broken. I have tweaked some of Feedburner’s settings to get it working again - so you should get updates in your reader and/or inbox from now on.

Apologies for the feed’s downtime.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: to find a creative mind is a real treat, and the guys from Three Legged Legs are incredibly creative. You might have seen their work before if you’ve caught the Humans video that’s doing the rounds, but they’ve also put together some other good stuff.

Check our their repertoire and you’ll be treated to short films like LA Lets Be Friends, where the city of LA is taken over by cartoonish creatures, or Ricochet which, in their own words, is just a chance to put together a video with “a bunch of military dudes running around blasting on each other”.

There are also some adverts that Three Legged Legs did for companies like Sony, Sprint, and Zune, among others.

Things like this make me realise how deeply un-creative I am, but I get great joy from exploring them. Take a look.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

I like Skitch - its a fab wee app that I discovered from the top 100 Mac apps that I posted about previously. It is a screen capture tool on steroids… designed for online collaboration.

I took the above snap when my iPod was updating and added a couple of things to try to demonstrate Skitch’s usefulness:

1. I highlighted my iPod’s stats… and was able to add what the stats translate to - number of songs etc.
2. I was also able to blacken out my serial number.

I did all this in minutes… and then posted it to Skitch’s webspace.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

I then had a number of sharing options (see above):

1. URL for this page
2. Direct URL
3. Embed
4. Full Size
5. Forum

I have used the “embed” option so far… and am working my way through the others. What is a nice option is that the picture can be “public”, “secret” (as in you need the URL to get to the page) or “private”. Again, I need to explore these options.

One last feature that I think is cool is that, because I logged my twitter account on sign on, I can post this pic on twitter.

I live Skitch and would recommend it. It is a freeware app for Mac OSX.

A chap called Chris Pirillo has compiled a top 100 list of Mac OSX apps and being a Mac man I am working my way down the list. I knew of a few already: Adium… CoconutBattery… Cyberduck… Handbrake… Senuti… Stuffit… Toast… and… VLC… but there are another 92 I need to check out.

Been playing with one already: Skitch which is a fantastic screen / image capture tool that I’ll post about soon… when I get the hang of it.

So anyway… if you are a Mac geek… check out Chris’ top 100 and find some new goodies along with me.

Thanks to swissmiss for the heads up and Chris for compiling the list.